Students Put Creativity, Math Skills To Watery Test

March 16, 2008|By CATHY GRIMES, cgrimes@dailypress.com 247-4758

HAMPTON — Brian Mastracci's eyes never left the sleek blue boat slicing the waters of the pond behind Bass Pro Shops. Thumbs on the twin toggles of a remote control console, the York High School junior guided the trim vessel around the pond's fountain and into a race lane lined with white floats next to a wood deck overlooking the pond.

As the Falcon's low bow passed the first float, a horn sounded. The boat moved forward, a foamy white wake spreading behind it.

"Go, baby, go!" a voice shouted from the crowd behind Mastracci. His York High teammates leaned forward, craning to watch the boat slip through the floats on the first of three runs.

At stake was the championship of the first high school boat design competition sponsored by the Apprentice School of Northrop Grumman Newport News and the school's chapter of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

The competition was the brainchild of Richard Boutwell, a professor with the Apprentice School and the adviser of its society. He came up with the idea two years ago as a way to spark high school students' interest in marine engineering and ship design.

More than 240 high school students from 10 schools submitted designs for the competition. Ten semifinalists made the first cut. They were winnowed to two: the York High team and the Virginia Beach Advanced Technology Center team.

York's design featured a long, low racing boat built for speed. The Virginia Beach team designed a square-shaped catamaran-style boat, built to turn on a dime.

York High technology teacher John Hammons told his third-year comprehensive design students about the project in October.

The idea caught fire. Mastracci said he and his classmates were used to designing gearboxes and other shapes with three-dimensional software but hadn't worked on designs that would be built.

"They know how to do plans and drawings," Hammons said. "It was a matter (of) what are we going to draw."

And it was a matter of math. Ship design is based on calculations, and Hammons said the calculations involved were daunting.

To help the students master the math, he called on two volunteers: naval architect Don Blount and his son, Douglas Blount. Don Blount owns a yacht design and engineering business.

"We design custom boats," he said.

He and his son explained the ancient and evolving art of naval architecture to the York High students, helping them grasp concepts usually taught at the college level, Don Blount said.

Mastracci and his fellow team members said the math was vital.

From November to January, they spent at least an hour a day on the project, honing their design.

They first considered a trimaran, or three-hulled vessel, but opted instead for a long, narrow, shallow craft similar to racing sculls.

Mastracci said the slim length would provide speed but would cost them in maneuverability.

Teams of architects from the Apprentice School reviewed early designs from the competing schools and offered suggestions and feedback.

The students were elated when their design was chosen for construction.

"These guys are competitive. They want to win," Hammons said.

Even after construction, the students fretted. Mastracci said they launched their boat, the Falcon, for the first time Wednesday, running practice races and getting used to the remote controls.

The Falcon and Virginia Beach's red "Sink Oar Swim" weighed more than 530 pounds each but had to hold 200 pounds of sand during Saturday's races.

Both boats were powered with identical trawling motors.

Before Saturday's competition, the two boats went through another maritime ritual.

Each was christened with sparkling grape juice poured from streamer-festooned bottles.

Heather Blount, a York High junior and Douglas Blount's daughter, handled the christening honors for the Falcon.

Then it was all competition.

The two boats were weighed and then judged on seven criteria: construction, payload testing, stability, speed, turning radius, calculations and judges' preferences.

Mastracci figured that the Falcon was in good shape for speed but would get dinged for its turning radius.

The stubbier Sink Oar Swim required much less space and time to turn and head back to the race lines for each of its three timed runs.

In the end, the short, nimble Virginia Beach boat won the competition.

The York team was disappointed, but Hammons said the experience was valuable.

"It's very rare for kids to see something they design get built," Hammons said.